A Tale of a Broken Heart
by Ra86
Summary: I'm really bad at summaries. Ryou's dead... Marik's depressed and feeling suicidal... Can Bakura save him before it's too late? R&R ONESHOT


It was a month after Ryou's death… Bakura and Marik were getting ready to go out with a friend for dinner…

"Marik?" Bakura asked as he knocked on the door to his friend's room. "You ready yet?" He heard a click as Marik unlocked his door.

"Give me a few more minutes Kura… I'm almost done." Marik said, poking his head out of the door. Bakura looked inside the other's room to see a mess of clothes and other things piled on the floor. He sighed and walked back downstairs. Ten minutes later Marik ran down the stairs.

"Ready to go?" Bakura asked slightly shocked at Marik's sudden appearance. Marik nodded solemnly and grabbed the keys to his car. They drove to Kaiba's mansion in silence.

Bakura rang the doorbell cautiously, not knowing what Kaiba's reaction to him taking his sister out to dinner would be… To his luck, Kelly Kaiba answered the door. "You look gorgeous," Bakura whispered to her.

"Thanks Kura… But tonight is for Marik's sake… Not ours. Ryou's death has been hard on all of us, but Marik has suffered more than any of us will ever know…" She reminded him. "I'll be out for a while K. See ya when I get home!"

The three of them entered the restaurant in silence… "Marik?" Kelly asked. "Are you sure you're up to this?" Marik nodded dully and ordered their table. He sat down with his two friends without anyone saying anything.

Soon, a tall, dark-haired woman came to their table. "Would y'all like to order?" She asked with a slight southern accent. Marik nodded. The waitress looked down at him. "I remember you!" She exclaimed. "You came in here once with a short, white haired kid… He kinda looked like your friend here," she said pointing to Bakura.

Marik fought back his tears. "Yeah…" His voice cracked as he spoke from the lack of him talking.

"Can we order now?" Bakura asked quickly changing the subject.

"Sure thing hon.… What can I get you fine folks?"

Bakura ordered filet mignon with some Merlot. Kelly ordered stuffed chicken and White wine. Marik had ordered Alfredo pasta. "Hey Kel?" Bakura asked quietly. "Is it just me? Or has Marik been staring out the window since we got here?" Kelly nodded in agreement.

"I'll be back," Marik mumbled as he stood up from the table and headed down a hallway.

"Where's he going?" Bakura asked.

"Probably to the bathroom to cry…" Kelly stated. "Maybe you should go in there to comfort him… like a good friend…" she added.

Bakura grumbled a "fine" under his breath as he stood up and headed to the men's restroom. When he walked in he heard Marik crying really hard. "Mar? You in here?" He turned around to see the younger Egyptian huddled in a corner with his knees to his chest, wiping the tears from his violet eyes. Bakura wandered over to him and squatted down to see him eye to eye. "You ok?"

Marik nodded. He got up slowly without speaking to his friend and walked over to the sinks. He turned the water on to cold and splashed some on his face. Bakura followed him. "Mariklisten tome," he whispered to him. "You can keep living like this… It's gonna hurt you… It already is…" Marik stared at the floor without looking at his best friend. "Marik… Look into my eyes… Tell me what you see…" He murmured gently, making Marik look him in the eye. He saw pain, fear, and utter loneliness in Marik's eyes…

"I see… fear, hope, and… something else… but I can't place it…"

"Caring?" Bakura put in.

"Maybe…" Marik mumbled.

"Are you ready to go back to dinner yet, Mariku?" Bakura asked the blonde gently, trying not to upset his friend.

"Don't call me that!" Marik snapped. "The only person who can call me that is Ryou! And I don't see him giving you any damn permission!"

"Marik…" Bakura pulled his friend into a hug. "It's ok…"

Marik clung onto Bakura's shirt for dear life, snuggling into his chest. "But…it's so hard…Kura! Ry's… gone!" He cried, tears flowing freely from the young Egyptian's eyes. Bakura patted the crying boy's back in an attempt to calm him… Marik quickly stopped crying and wiped off his tears… "We should go eat…our food is probably getting cold…"

"Alright Marik… Let's go."

Kelly and Bakura had finished eating when they noticed Marik had hardly touched his food. "Marik?" Kelly asked. "You alright? You've hardly eaten anything." Marik nodded and continued to stare out the window. Bakura suddenly slammed his fist on the table, making Kelly and Marik jump and look at him. He grabbed Marik's shirt collar.

"What the hell is wrong with you? You've got to knock thisshit off! You haven't eaten since Ryou died! Nor have you slept! You've barely said anything and you spend all your time locked up in that damn room of yours! This has got to stop! No matter how much you sulk around the place in a major depression, that is starting to rub off on some of us, it's not gonna bring Ryou back! You can't perform miracles, Ishtar! None of us can!" Bakura yelled. Marik had immediately started crying again.

"Bakura!" Kelly glared at him. "You have no idea what he's going through!" Tears rolled down Marik's cheeks though he was quiet. He put his head down on the table as Bakura got up and walked out the door. Kelly put her hand on Marik's shoulder. "Hey… Don't take what he said seriously… He's just worried about you, that's all," she said calmly.

Marik looked up. "Well if he cares about me so much, why the hell does he yell at me and make me cry in public huh? Answer me that!"

Kelly looked into the boy's eyes… "You look empty Marik… Even though you're mad and upset, your eyes don't hold the fire they used to… You're a broken man, and Bakura's trying to help…really he is… He loved Ryou too you know… not as much as you did, but he still loved him."

"I guess you're right." Marik said softly. His voice seemed foreign to him…so distant and empty.

"Do you want to leave now?" Kelly asked, sympathy towards her broken friend clearly showing in her light blue eyes. Marik nodded and left the money on the table.

Bakura and Marik dropped Kelly off at home before going home themselves. Marik went straight up to his room. "I need a drink," Bakura thought aloud. He went into the kitchen to find a message on their answering machine. He pressed the play button and rummaged through the fridge for the bottle of Vodka he'd left in there from the previous day.

"Hello…" Came a lonely voice over the speaker. "I've decided I can't take this anymore… I know you're listening to me Kura… Probably drinking the night away… Anyway… Now that Ryou's gone my life is empty… I have nothing anymore and it's time to end my suffering… Death seems like an easy solution for a tortured soul…. Good bye Bakura…"

Bakura slammed the bottle down and ran up to Marik's room… He heard the usual crying of the younger boy, except now it was more distant and broken… He also heard the sliding of a knife on the table in Marik's room…

He pounded on the door like a madman, his heart racing at the speed of light.. "No Marik!" he screamed. "Don't do it!" Bakura pounded on the door hard enough to make his fists start bleeding… but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was that Marik was still alive when he got through the menacing door… "Please Marik!" He yelled desperately, "Marik!" He slammed his whole body against the door with tears streaming down his face, breaking it open. Marik stared up at him with tears in his eyes, the knife carefully positioned at his wrist…

"Kura…" he whispered… "You….you…."

Bakura ran up to him, tears still in his eyes, and kissed him. "Don't you ever do that to me ever again! You understand? Never, ever again!" He held the sobbing boy in his arms.

"I didn't think you cared…" Marik mumbled softly.

Bakura held him tighter in his grasp… "But I do… And I always will, Marik. Don't you forget it…." Marik nodded, and for the first time in a month… he smiled.The blonde boycuddled closer to Bakura's chest.

"Okay Kura… I won't…"

They laid in each others arms the rest of the night… Both of them falling asleep smiling…


End file.
